Improvement in seasvmmg-sviachines



W. C. SHARP. SEAMING-MACHINE- Patented Nov. 23,1875.

UNITED 1;' arten WILLIAM C. SHARP, OF VINELAND, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOSEPH 163. SHARP, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEANING-NIACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 170,309, dated November 23, 1875; application filed August 12, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, WILLIAM G. SHARP, of Vineland, in the county of Cumberland and State of New Jersey, have invented an improved compressor, seamer, or creaser for compressing the seams of tin and other metals for roofing and similar purposes; and I do hereby decla-re that the following, taken in connection with the drawings which accompany and form part of this specification, is a description of my invention sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

My invention is designed for rapidly ,and smoothly compressing andv finishing the seams by which the tin or -metal sheets used for roofing are united together, and it is applicable for roofing, valleying, glittering, Ste.

In the present practiceY of making metal seams for roofing. so far as is known to me, there has been difficulty in securing a smooth even seam, especially at the edge where the soldering is to come, resulting in the waste of solder, in imperfect work, and ultimate damage by leakage. These and other practical disadvantages have led to my presentinvention, consisting` in a machine which performs the duty of instantly giving a smooth close compression to the interlocked seam, and by the same act laying the edge of the seam smoothly upon the sheet to which it is to be soldered.

In the drawings, Figure lis a perspective View of a machine, serving to illustrate my invention, and Fig. 2 another forniof solid or heavy compressor.

A is a frame or table, having a horizontal top, B, which may be of wood, but provided with a smooth iron or steel horizontal bed, c, located beneath the weight or compressor d. This compressor is made long enough and broad enough on its smooth under face to reach across and compress the whole seam simultaneously 5 and it is made heavy and strong enough to impart a perfectly true and even pressure on the locked seam when forced down by the treadle. A spring, f, suspended from a bracket, exerts a constant tendency to lift the compressor until pulled down by the treadle g and connecting-link g; and a spring, h, underneath the table, and connecting it with the treadle, serves to break the force and ease the action of the foot-lever, and materially to facilitate the operation. The compressor I support at its ends on arms t' t', as shown, and which are hung on centers or pivots at k k. This permits all the motion required, and also gives a leverage to assist the operator in pulling it down for action. The action of the compressor on the metal is such as greatly to prevent any fracture of its bent edge. When lifted, there is always free space between the bed c and the compressor for the introduction ofthe metal to be operated upon. edge, l, at one side of the horizontal table and bed, serves as a guide to the material passing through the machine, and insures a true straight line at both edges of the metal, and thus dispenses with any edge trimming for matching on the roof. I employ a take-up roll, m, provided with a groove, n, into which v the forward edge of the metal is inserted at the commencement of rolling up, to secure a good hold. This roller has a ratchet, o, into the teeth of which a spring pawl or detent, p, engages, to prevent rolling. When the compressor has squeezed and smoothed the seam, and just before it is released, the metal may be wound up very tightly on the roll, thus preserving, in the bestand smoothest form, the already smooth condition in which the metal is left; and the roll is then detached from the machine with the metal on it, which is then slipped endwise from` the roll and placed on a bench for soldering. From the fact of its having been so closely and tightly -Wound upon the roll thiscontinuous coil of metal, when removed from the roll, readily and naturally preserves its coiled condition 5 and, when gradually yit is unrolled upon a table for the purpose of soldering the seams one after the other in succession, the tendency to resume its coiled or wound-up condition is such that its outer end, with but slight assistance, will commence to coil up as the solderin'g progresses, and it will then coil at one end as it is uncoiled and soldered toward the other end. This prevents the sheet from twisting or alfecting or breaking the soldering, and puts it into the smallest compass to be carried to the roof.

The -machine may be driven by power, by

A straighthavinga cam or Wiper impart an ntemittent `fixed fulora or bearings, and actuated by a action to the treadle. y treadle, and employed in the described con I elaimneotion with the take-up roller m, actuated by l. The combination, with the swinging coma hand-crank, as and for the purpose set; forth.

pressor hung upon 1everarms i, having xed WILLIAM C. SHAB?.

fulora, of the link g', treadle g, and springs f Witnesses:

and h, substantially as shown and described. JAMES SAWYER,

2. The metal-seam compressor d, hung on mJAMES LOUGHRAN. 

